What’s the real cost of hiring a live wedding band in 2024?

 

Wedding band pricing can sometimes seem random and confusing at times, can’t it? In this guide, I am going to make sure you don’t overpay and get real value for money by showing you the average costs for 3, 4, 5, and 6-piece wedding bands for hire across the whole of England. After that, you’ll see some great examples of popular 3, 4, 5, and 6-piece wedding bands so you know what your hard-earned money can really get you. This kind of extensive research has never been undertaken before so sit back and get the real answers!

Read on for loads of great info and money-saving tips or click here to head straight to the average cost of wedding bands or here for the cost of wedding bands in every county.

How can our prices always be less than the national average? 

You’ve probably had a look at some of the tables below and are wondering what the prices highlighted in blue represent. Well, those are the average prices for our own lovely and award-winning wedding bands. Why are we on average £100 cheaper than anywhere else? Well, we don’t charge commissions or hire salespeople like other entertainment websites. We are in the bands you see and because we also run our website, we don’t need to charge you all the unnecessary extra fees other entertainment agencies do. Fantastic wedding bands without all the extra costs. Win-win!

 

Looking to hire a wedding band?

If you are looking for a wedding band for your 2024 or 2025 wedding why not have a look at ours? Our live wedding bands are made up of world-class musicians in award-winning wedding bands and always include 24-hour gig support, a comprehensive booking contract and full covid-cover with any booking. Enquire here for more info and get an unbeatable price on any of our live wedding bands as we are currently offering 15% off any 2024 booking.

 

What’s usually included in the price for a wedding band?

These are all the freebies we like to include with any wedding band booking but we can’t guarantee it’s the same for every band or agency out there. Enjoy some free stuff!

1. 2×60 or 3×40 minute live sets
2. A comprehensive booking contract that includes covid cover
3. Band arrival time of 5 pm or later
4. Band set up time of 60/90 minutes
5. Finish time of midnight or earlier
6. *FREE* DJ laptop set in between live sets or as required (usually costing £150)
7. A professional PA sound system, stage lighting, and PLI and PAT certificates
8. All transport and accommodation costs
9. All our live wedding bands are happy to discuss playing certain songs and catering their setlist just for you

 

More great guides to help you plan your perfect wedding!

Why not take a look at some of our other guides that are all about helping you plan that perfect wedding?

• The Best Wedding Ceremony and Reception Musicians
• Funktastic Disco and Funk Wedding Bands for Hire
• The Most Recommended Rock and Pop Wedding Bands for Hire
• The Best Soul and Motown Wedding Bands for Hire
• Our Most Recommended Indie and Britpop Wedding Bands
• The Best Acoustic and Folk Wedding Bands for Hire
• 20 Awesome Bandeoke and Rockaoke Live Wedding Bands for Hire
• 8 Facts About Sound Limiters at Wedding Venues
• Do I Need A First Dance At My Wedding?
• Top Tips For The Perfect First Dance
• 40+ Of The Best Wedding Bands For Hire

 

So what did we actually do?

Now, we know you may not just want to take our word or some other wedding blog’s word on how much wedding bands cost so to remedy this, we went out and did some serious stat-based heavy lifting for you. We looked at all the major UK-based wedding entertainment websites (including ours), looked at the most popular 3, 4, 5, and 6-piece wedding bands, and correlated how much each of those bands would cost in every county, major area, or city in England. As mentioned, our prices are currently 15% lower but we haven’t seen anything similar on other wedding entertainment websites so haven’t edited our findings below. Pretty relevant to mention in a guide like this!

 

Anything else??

We then worked out an average price for each band size in each of these areas to give you the most comprehensive study ever on how much it really costs to hire a wedding band. Yes, yes we know we spoil you! If you want to know all the specifics regarding our findings, check the small print at the bottom of the post.

The average cost of a live wedding band in the UK in 2024 infographic

Live wedding band cost can vary but on average you are looking at £800 to £1200 for a 3-piece band, £900 to £1800 for a 4-piece band, £1200 to £1900 for a 5-piece band, and £1400 to £2000 + for a 6-piece band. However, various factors like continuing inflation, petrol costs/related expenses, and off-peak and peak pricing can also have an impact on cost.

However, why just read all about this when you can just see most of it in a handy infographic? If you want a copy for yourself, just let us know.

 

 

Even more on the average cost of wedding bands for hire in 2024

 

Average wedding band cost across the whole of England 

The average cost of a wedding band in 2024 when adding up all prices of all band sizes from all over England is £1580.91 or £1370.58 with us. Armed with this info, you should know if you are getting a good overall deal when checking out wedding bands all over the lovely internet. A great example of a popular, average-priced wedding band is All Night Disco.

 

The overall cost of a 3-piece wedding band for hire

The overall cost of a 3-piece wedding band in England – one of the smallest types of wedding band you can hire is £1170.76 or £945.20 with us. That’s a small increase from 2023 pricing which isn’t surprising considering the rising costs in the UK. A great example of this kind of band is our super-popular Electric Jukebox (above).

 

The overall cost of a 4-piece wedding band for hire

At £1580.65 or £1395.85 with us, the average cost of a 4-piece band in England in 2024 is slightly higher too. This is always expected as demand is always high for 4-piece bands in England year after year and Flair Four (above) are no exception being one of our most in-demand live wedding bands all year round.

 

 

The overall cost of a 5-piece wedding band for hire

With the cost of 5-piece wedding bands averaging at £1625.91 or £1485.85 with us, they are still one of the bargains of the wedding band world, especially during these high inflation times. Hardly costing more than a 4-piece band, 5-piece bands usually offer an extra keyboardist, guitarist, or singer when compared to 4-piece acts. It’s well worth looking at 5-piece wedding bands in England and why not start with our rather fantastic and popular band Good Fellas (above)?

 

The overall cost of a 6-piece wedding band for hire

The overall cost of 6-piece wedding bands in England is £1890.33 or £1645.43 with us. That’s quite the jump from the 5 piece bands, so you only really want to consider these fantastic big bands if you have a generous budget and a big stage. Southside Sparkle (above) are one such wedding band that are well worth the money though, with an amazing live show.

Which location in 2024 is the most expensive when hiring a live wedding band?

With all band sizes included, the most expensive location to hire a live wedding band in 2024 is the old classic London. Many counties were almost as expensive but if you are looking at wedding bands or wedding venues in London, you may want to check out neighbouring counties’ prices too.

 

Which location in 2024 is the least expensive when hiring a live wedding band?    

Again, with all band sizes included, the least expensive location to hire a live wedding band is Gloucestershire. At £1386 or £1254 with us, we were quite surprised by how affordable the area is so if you are looking at having your wedding in this county, stay put and book a band!

 

The headline act: Every single average price for 3, 4, 5 and 6-piece live wedding bands across all locations in England

 

Are you ready for this? This is the big one! Look below for every band size, every location, and every price. I guarantee that you will find the average prices for 3, 4, 5, and 6-piece wedding bands in 2024, in the area you are looking to hire a band. We hope this important research really helps you pick the best wedding band for you and your guests. Again, the black figures represent the average price with all major entertainment agencies and the blue figures represent our prices.

Click on any area below to skip straight to that section.

 

South East

South West

West Midlands

East Midlands

East of England

North West

North East

Yorkshire and the Humber

 

The South East

Rockaoke Live! are one of our most popular bandeoke and rockaoke wedding bands in the South East!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the South East

 

The South West

Award-winning Bournemouth-based Party Republic are a huge hit at weddings!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the South West

 

 

The West Midlands

Birmingham-based Usual Suspects bring joy and fun to every wedding they get to perform at!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the West Midlands

 

 

The East Midlands

Manchester-based Acrylic bring rock, indie, and pop hits to any wedding in the Midlands!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the East Midlands

 

 

The East of England

You’ll often see The Motown Boys performing their popular acoustic pop sets all around weddings in the East of England.

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the East of England

 

 

The North West

Flair Twelve travel the world including the North West to deliver the finest wedding entertainment you will ever see!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the North West

 

 

The North East

The Grassroots Folk Collective go down an absolute storm in the North East!

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in the North East

 

 

Yorkshire and the Humber

Hailing from Leeds, acoustic duo Talking with Fireworks can be seen strutting their acoustic stuff all around Yorkshire and the Humber.

Click to see all of our live wedding bands that can perform in Yorkshire and the Humber

 

So what did we find most interesting after looking at all this wedding data? 

What stood out for us most once we complied all this data? What do I think is most relevant for you? Well as explained earlier, 4-piece wedding bands are still quite the expense countrywide whereas 5-piece wedding bands seem quite the bargain! 3 piece wedding bands still hold the prize as the most affordable bands out there and 6-piece wedding bands were surprisingly expensive. This mirrors 2023 exactly despite inflation so don’t expect this to change anytime soon as it’s been a trend for many years.

  

What stood out most about all the location pricing for us? 

London usually tops the list as the most expensive area in England to book a live wedding band and so it was again the unsurprising winner. The southern counties are still generally the more expensive but there are some bargains with Gloucestershire topping the charts as the least expensive area to book a live wedding band. Certain counties saw a real drop in prices, so there are bargains to be had during these expensive times.

 

 Live wedding band for hire examples

Every live band has its own unique price of course but let’s go through some price brackets and give you an idea of what kind of live band you can get for your money. Broadly speaking, my price bracket suggestions assume that all the below (including the freebies mentioned earlier in the guide) are included. It’s what we include in our pricing as standard and you should expect nothing less from any live wedding band or agency website.

 

• Deposit (not always included on other websites)
• Band hire including all incurred expenses (equipment hire, stage lighting, fuel/travel costs and rider, etc)
• Free DJ or laptop DJ service (not always included on other websites)
• Any and all hidden extra costs
• Agreed added extras
• Any final payments

 

If you want to learn more about wedding bands in general, have a look at our guide here or check back every week for more from our blog. Oh, and the below pricing brackets don’t necessarily take into account boutique, bespoke, or celebrity-based wedding bands. These acts can vary wildly in pricing.

£800-£950

We’re not going to talk about anything lower than £800 in this post as we are concentrating on three-piece bands and upwards. We wouldn’t recommend hiring any wedding band for under £700 unless you know them or are getting an amazing “mates rate”. Check out our post on whether it’s safe to book a wedding band online for more info on that. With a budget of £800-£950 however, you could afford a great three-piece wedding band. They may be small but they pack a mighty punch! 

Paper Boats (above) are a fantastic example of an incredibly popular, three-piece wedding band in this price bracket.

 

£900-£1400

With a healthy budget of £900-£1400, you can hire some of the best three-piece wedding bands and start to get hold of some great four and even five-piece acts. We always advise that quality is better than quantity. Pick a great four-piece over a decent five-piece and you will reap the rewards come party time! 

You can’t go wrong with our super popular League of Gentlemen (above) when it comes to a competitively priced, fun, and highly experienced four-piece.

 

£1000-£1700

Within these price ranges, you are looking at top-draw three-piece wedding bands and some really good four and five-piece bands. This is a really good place to be budget-wise as it will open you up to a huge range of live bands for any type of wedding.

From the Top (above) are a great example of a four/five-piece band that are just that little bit special and very well-priced.

 

£1400-£2200

If your budget can stretch here, you are pretty much guaranteed a fantastic wedding band. You can probably start to afford a five to six-piece outfit within this price range and they will do you proud come wedding day. Again, once you have reached these kinds of numbers, the choice of live bands is pretty much endless.

https://youtu.be/aMRIwU1XVuk

An outstanding example of a larger band are Night and Day (above). You can’t get much better for the money.

 

£2000-£2700

Now we’re talking! You are getting into the upper echelons of wedding band pricing here with acts right up to 10-piece monster bands. Make sure you have the room to house these epic live bands at your wedding. With this budget, you could always get a truly outstanding four, five, or six-piece wedding band if space is an issue. 

The award-winning DJ Republic (above) are a premium live band that fit nicely into this bracket. Top musicians playing only the finest venues and weddings.

£2500 +

If you are looking at spending £2500 and above, then you can pretty much pick any live wedding band out there. You can even look at designing a truly bespoke band, especially for your wedding. If you really want to go wild you can look at 20+ piece bands that truly are a spectacle. Seventh Second is run by the musicians in the bands you see here so if you have this kind of budget in mind, come and speak to us and we will design a band just for you. 

Many of our acts can expand their bands into larger and more impressive acts and one such band is the world-class Flair Twelve above.

Until next time…

I hope you’ve found this guide useful and don’t forget to keep checking back for more. We have a plethora of information to help guide you through what can be the daunting and uncertain world of hiring a live band for a wedding and every week we add more guides to help you. If you need more help and assistance, have comments, or feel we missed something, contact us anytime. Oh and now that you know the real cost of hiring a live wedding band, why not check out our great wedding bands for some inspiration? Don’t forget our current offer too.

Save 15% on any 2024 live wedding band

 

We spend a lot of time making our guides the best we can for you so if you liked what you read please consider sharing it with others.

Bye for now!

 Jon and the Seventh Second Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How we worked out the results

To get the best results, we had to stick to the most popular wedding bands booked in the most popular area, England. We only chose England for the study as many bands based in England either won’t travel to Wales, Ireland, or Scotland or if they do, their prices range wildly meaning producing an average wouldn’t be very helpful to you. In our experience, it’s just better to speak to a band specifically if you want them to travel all that way for you. We also only included “general” 3,4,5 and 6-piece wedding bands and not niche acts like Oompah wedding bands or other genre-specific acts as our list would have become so vast that all our heads would have exploded. The same reasoning goes for why we only picked 3,4,5, and 6-piece-sized wedding bands. We always used 10 distinct bands and decided which were the most popular on any given website by looking at their longevity and how many positive reviews they had. We also always rounded prices up to keep it simple. Picking the top wedding entertainment websites was easy because you know, they are kind of our competition. You will notice that we listed our band’s average prices too. We can confirm they are 100% accurate. If you have any questions just ask.

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